A letter to my insurance company.

Dear Blue Cross/Blue Shield of Minnesota:

While living with my amore mio (sweetheart) in her native Italy this winter, I had an emergency medical situation. And spent eight days in an Italian public hospital. In the city of Carbonia. In Sardinia, the second largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. Some 120 miles off the Italian boot. A one-hour flight from Rome. Believe me. Sardinia is a spectacular and idyllic place. With over 1,200 miles of blended smooth and rugged coastline, tranquil rural countryside dotted by quaint villages. With a few larger, more cosmopolitan cities mixed in. 

Anyway,  to get down to business. I was treated for a heart condition. Requiring angioplasty and other medical procedures. For which copies of attached documents will attest. Fortunately, I came out of all of this. Very much alive. The Italian cardiologists (one was Spanish) performed an angiogram, a stress test, an ultrasound exam of my heart. Plus the angioplasty, which included ballooning of an artery already containing two stents. I received round-the-clock care in the hospital (Jan. 2 to Jan. 9) from doctors, nurses and other staff. Treated, essentially, in the same manner that  any Italian citizen would have been treated. Didn't matter that I was a foreigner. And had no absolute proof that I would be able to pay the bill. After all, my life was in peril. And that's all that mattered.

Upon returning to the U.S., I was told by my American doctors that had I received the same kind of medical and hospital care in America, the cost would have likely run into the six figures.

Now for the incredible news. My total (bottom-line) bill in Italy was 5,374 euros, or $6,274 in U.S. dollars. Attached documents, with these figures circled, reflect the actual bill and personal banking transactions that allowed me to raise funds to pay the bill.  Yes, I know my Blue Cross/Blue Shield insurance company wants an itemized bill. With a specific cost tied to each procedure. But that's not the way the Italians operate and conduct business. They provide only a bottom-line bill. Without itemization. The Italian bureaucrats tell me they calculate only an estimate of what it cost to save my life. Whether I be an Italian or an American or a penniless refugee. Makes sense. In the humane Italian way. Maybe not in an American way. In the end, the Italians balance their health and hospital care budgets. Without breaking down the fine details. And without the middle man insurance companies. Everyone in Italy is covered. By sort of a socialized medicine. A neat way to go. No complaints on my part. Because it's proving to be beneficial. For me. And for my insurance company.

Think about it. If I had been billed for the actual cost for the angioplasty and other procedures, like happens in America, the amount for everything would have far exceeded $6,274. So, who am I to complain? I and my insurance company have been given a break. An almost unbelievable bargain.

Now, I am asking to be reimbursed. For the full amount of the $6,274 bottom-line bill. Under the provisions of my Blue Cross/Blue Shield insurance coverage. I am submitting detailed printed records of the hospital and medical care received.

If you need additional information, please contact me. My address is 22652 Hayward Avenue North, Forest Lake, Minnesota 55025-8222; or jbbroede@hotmail.com; or telephone 651-464-3978. I have also attached a business card. I am a writer. With a daily blog. On the Internet. Plug into the blog. You will read the details of my experience in Italy and with the Italian and American medical bureaucracies.  Let's hope for a happy ending. It will be duly reported.

Let me add. The Italians have been very accommodating. But please understand, their ways are different than the American ways. As you can see. From the bill itself. Seems to me that it was a blessing -- medically and economically -- that my medical emergency occurred in Italy. And not in  America. Please  consider, too, that I'd like to show that it was all a blessing for Blue Cross/Blue Shield, too. Especially if I can demonstrate that  my beloved insurance provided me with comfort and full reimbursement. That would be a sign that the system works.

Best wishes to everyone at Blue Cross/Blue Shield,


Jim Broede